Recipes

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Today marks one year of my foray into the world of blogging. Today was the day I hopped onto blogger bandwagon and wrote my first little post: about me and the disclaimer. I did not post the first recipe until 27 th January, 2014. What a journey it has been! Although I still consider myself a novice blogger/ new blogger, I have come a long way from where I began. It has been a journey of continual learning. I have met so many wonderful people which includes fellow bloggers, followers and other food enthusiasts along the way. It would be ungracious of me if I don't express my gratitude to atleast a few of them who have stood by my side, encouraged me and helped me evolve.This list is by no means complete: First and foremost,I would like to thank my Mother, who taught me to cook at the tender age of 8. She is also my lone champion. She supports me unconditionally in all my endeavors! Next, I have to thank the foodie group on facebook,Chef at large ( CAL as we fondly call it), it's members and administrators for their support. It was CAL that pushed me onto the road of blogging. I am thankful for that push. Next, I would like to thank all my friends and family members who inspired and encouraged me all the way. I definitely have to express my gratitude to Vanessa Potrass and her team at Meatless Monday, who have supported my work and even published one of my favorite recipes in their Earthbound farms Breakfast e-cookbook. That was definitely an honor for me. Angie at the Novice Gardner deserves a special mention. Thanks to her continued hard work hosting Fiesta Friday, we get to interact with all these wonderful food bloggers. And guess what?? This week Fiesta Friday hosted by Angie@the Novice Gardner is also celebrating their first anniversary! Is that coincidence or what! Angie is hosting a massive block party to celebrate this milestone!

If you have not yet been to Angie's Fiesta yet, you definitely should! It is super-fun. Me and her will be joining in the celebrations. A few of my fellow bloggers require to be specifically mentioned: Amrita who blogs at amritavishal127.blogspot.com & Sonal Gupta of simplyvegetarian777 for supporting me, helping me with queries; Jhuls from thenotsocreativecook, who is a champion of new bloggers, for giving me my first guest post and for nominating me for the leiberg award( which I am yet to accept due to lack of time)! Thank you for the honor.

I used to think that I was busy before! But now since the beginning of 2015, it is absolute madness. This has happened due to change in personal circumstances and me not having any help with my two little ones. Well, one has to prioritize in life , right? I have decided that this blog is supposed to be something that I have up do when I have spare time. Therefore I am going to take it easy. I have promised myself not to go crazy about all the imperfections that this blog has and needs to be fixed. there is plenty of work that needs to be done, and will be done in due course of time.

It is only apt that I post something simple, easy and healthy today. I will therefore share with you today a recipe that is common and everyday occurrence in a Konkani household since time immemorial: Saarupkari. You can also call it Saaru Upkari. " Saaru " in Konkani language means " gravy" and " upkari" means "stir-fry". The literal translation would make the dish " gravy stir-fry" or a stir fry with gravy. You would have seen several stir-fries that have been posted by me. This one is slightly different,even though the procedure of making it is simple like that of a stir-fry. This is made with beans and is thick and soupy. Yes, I would translate it as " Bean Soup", konkani style. Believe me when I tell you that making soup cannot be easier than this. This is a pretty staple side-dish in most konkani household. Depending on the bean that has been used, the nomenclature of the soup. Today, I am going to talk about red kidney bean which in Konkani is known as tambde bea. "Tambde" means "red" and "bea" means "bean". So red kidney bean soup would be called tambde bea saarupkari. All that is done for the soup is that you boil the concerned beans with excess water until it is tender enough to your liking and you get a thick gravy.We then add salt and temper it with either mustard, curry leaves , hing and chilli powder or temper it with crushed garlic and chilli powder . Yes, it's that simple!!! And you can enjoy a delicious piping hot bowl of bean soup either all by itself, with rice, or some crackers or a piece of bread.

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Method:

If using the dried red kidney beans soak it in water for atleast six hours or overnight. The next day place the beans and water in the cooker. Reduce the flame to low after the first whistle and cook for 15 mins. Switch off the flame. Do not open the cooker until the steam has totally been released.

Once the steam is released, mix the beans, add salt and bring it to a boil.

If using canned beans, rinse the beans and boil it with water and salt.

Tempering:

Heat coconut oil in a skillet. Add crushed garlic cloves to the oil. Sauté until the garlic turns slightly golden brown. Turn off the flame and add chilli powder.

Cooking made easy:

This saarupkari/ soup can be made with any beans. I prefer the dried beans as when you boil them you get a nice thick soupy consistency sauce. The canned beans don't give you the same results, unless of course you use the fluid that comes with the beans. This fluid however very high in sodium and may have preservatives and therefore is not good for you.

For creamier beans, add a pinch of baking soda in the water while soaking the dried beans.

Tip for healthy living:

Avoid canned beans as the aluminum from the can leaches into the fluid. Also the fluid tends to be high in sodium which is not good for the body. Increased consumption of sodium can increase blood pressure, cause water retention in the body.

Food for thought:

Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do. Michel de Montaigne